A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus is an apparatus for photographing a subject by using a magnetic field and is widely used to accurately diagnose a disease since the MRI apparatus three-dimensionally shows not only bones but also disks, joints, nerves, ligaments, and the heart at any desired angle. Since the heart moves according to time, an MR image of the heart may be obtained and analyzed at certain times to determine a cardiac disorder.
In order to determine a cardiac disorder, a direction of the MRI apparatus is determined while capturing an MR image of the heart. The heart has a long-axis and a short-axis. The long-axis of the heart forms a line from a spleen to a right shoulder, and the short-axis of the heart is a line corresponding to an atrioventricular sulcus and forms a diagonal line close to a vertical line. A structure and movement of the heart may be three-dimensionally determined by obtaining MR images captured according to the short- and long-axes.
The heart includes a base and an apex, wherein the base is a region including an atrium and great arteries, and the apex is a region protruding below a stomach. During an MRI, the heart is photographed based on the base and the apex, and it is very important to determine locations of the base and the apex in the heart since information about the base and the apex is largely required while diagnosing a cardiac disorder.